I returned laden with fresh produce after 6k walk to the Barossa farmers market.
Flagons of grog this man is happily taking home!
Goodnight sleep tight Aussie Bushman
Neary 50 off these smell wine snaples in a day can ad ups for snore!
Barrels of wine you can’t take home!
Sweet ricotta filled chocolate cannelloni
Not sure which Frost is the most skilled dodger??
Murray St Vineyard, Barossa Valley
Grins of alcoholic happiness. I’m certain we could both stand unaided!
Make the tortellini
Eat the tortellini
Mt Arapiles fire tower
The giant painted grain silos in Bordertown brings tourist flocking and keeps this little town alive.
Check out the plethora of wildlife thirstily drinking from this water hole
Broughtons water hole, Little Desert, Victoria
A blind rock wallaby in the caves With a joey in her pouch and completely unafraid.
Darn good rock climbing
Lake Lonsdale
Rocklands Reservoir pretty much only ticks box #6
On the lookout for bushfires from Mt Arapiles
An afternoon paddle around Lake Ratzcastle
The Grampians
Bowling alley entertainment
Country bumpkins!
Alan advises the family that this is the coffin for him!
Pouring a $160,000 ingot
It takes a 1064 degree heat to melt gold and remove the impurities
Sister Isuzu’s
Greg and Merryl have done a fine job
Stage coach was the only way to travel in 1851
Tourists try their luck in panning for gold
The lookout over Wineglass Bay at Frecinet Nat Park
A chilly wind out on the pier
We are not likely to starve while we wait n Portarlington. Fresh local produce results in a delicious camp meal
Chinese miners were envied for their discipline and organisational skills
The only way in to Wineglass Bay is by foot, hence they are taking a well earned rest!
The famous Wineglass Bay
Our resident Male Wallaby at Friendly Beaches, Frecinet. Arhh, how did we know he was a boy?
The view from our window at Friendly Beaches. Not bad!
Fascinating lava flow forming a rock conglomerate on the sea shore
A Cray fisherman’s in harbour at Bichano
How dedicated am I, even when there is no internet!
A cloudy, chilly, windy day at Cradle Mountain World Heritage region
One of many commercially grown poppy fields for the production of medicinal opium
Gale force winds on the top of The Nut at Stanley.
A camp fire to end a stressful day looking for this camp at Trout Creek
Voted our BEST camp of the trip. Sloop Reef beach at Bay of Fires
A chilly 6am sunrise at Sloop Reef, Bay of Fires
Sunrise at the Bay of Fires. Stunning Colours
We made it to Marion’s Lookout to get a brief glimpse of Cradle Mountain
A beautiful crater lake near Cradle Mountain
A thrilling steam train ride from Strahan to Queenstaown
It’s take a lot of effort and secondhand sump oil to feed a steam train
A once toxic Queen River, still full of iron oxide and sulphur from the old copper mine tailings
The Grand Dame Engine No.1… our ride for the day
The unique ABT rail rachet and pin system, allowing trains in the late 1800’s to climb very steep gradients
Prehistoric rain forest at Mt Field
Mt Field National Park’s Horseshoe falls
Superb arched engineering of the Lake Gordon Dam wall
Our visiting family of Paddi Melons
Finally a camp fire at Edgar Dam on Lake Pedder
Queenstown renowned for copper mining in the late 1800’s
The Mt Jukes Copper mine
Fading light at Russell falls, Mt Field
Feel the fear when you’re out on the air walk 38m above the Huon River
Breaksea Islands at the entrance to Bathurst Harbour
Beautiful coastal rock formations
Walked for a couple of hours to get to the top of Mt Beaty at 276m high
Behind that little baby island is our hidden wilderness camp
A fluffy little Moss Monster nestled in the fork of a Tea Tree
A natural blow hole on Breaksea Island
Gnarly sea eroded holes in the cliffs of Breaksea Island
Seaweed on the sand at Bathurst Harbour
A leatherwood gum famous for the bee’s distinctive tasting honey
If only it would stop raining. Lime Bay Reserve.
The House for the insane at Port Arthur Historical Site
The penitentiary at Port Arthur
Our sea dog friend Chris, on the dock after finishing the Sydney/ Hobart Yacht Race
The triumphant DeKadence finishes her 3 day race in Hobart
A young cotton crop well on its way
The new picker is BIG!
Tilting the cabin is a tedious, heavy and beer-worthy job!
Does my bum look BIG?
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A baby turtle found in Rocky creek
Can this very old retaining wall hold the weight of our truck? Yes, at least for as long as photo moment!
We named him Yurtle!
A few country tunes with our lunch in Tamworth. These young boys were very entertaining.
“Yes I’m sure I can see gold in here”. This is what gold fever does to grown men!
A few running road repairs on Andy’s Landy.
Hundreds of small frogs came out at night, their LED eyes shining everywhere in the dark.
The perfect bubble!
Diesel Stokes the fire and not in the way you may think!
It’s a busy busy day for all at Rocky Creek
A good dog’s reward after the beast has been slaughtered.
Abandoned Red Rock Gold Mine
An elevated bush camp with a view.
Happy campers
A friendly magpie come to visit…
Trixy believes this bush walking business is a breeze in dad’s arms.
Diesel practises his abseiling skills and does a fine job water collecting.
Aire Crossing in the Otway Ranges
The rocket house on the left. Rockets were fired from land to a distressed ship with cable and boson chair to ferry passengers to safety. It was a rescue strategy that rarely worked!
Wye River, the House right above us has been destroyed, the house next door is untouched.
Christmas day Fires at Wye River
Mr Percival, Mr Proud and Mr Ponder’s cousins on the Goolwa wharf.
A bubble blowing demonstration by Daisy
View from the Lighthouse… King Island is straight ahead
A resident Koala in the Gum Tree a few metres away from the truck
Hope he’s not a drop bear!
The Great Ocean Road, a view worth risking life.
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village at Warrnambool representing the typical mix of trades in a coastal town of the 1800’s.
Every man and his wife, child and grandmother visiting the Apostles!
Apostles to the East
An Apostle standing watch
Apollo Bay has the BEST Fish and Chips, the seagulls didn’t get a scrap.
Cape Otway Lighthouse
A 90km wide channel that was apparently very easy to miss in the midst of a storm.
The Twelve Apostles… Some have crumbled so now only Eight
Loch Ard Gorge
A spectacular bay to be washed ashore in.
Mutton Bird Island, A predator-free haven for thousands of breeding birds that annually fly a 30,000km loop to return to this exact same nesting place.
Broken Head
A Port Campbell sunset
The Grotto walkway
London Bridge has fallen down! The bridge from this formation to the mainland has fallen into the sea since Alan was here 35 years ago. 2 stranded tourists were airlifted out after the fall in 1997
Magnificent eroded limestone cliffs
Surging water through the Arch
The Arch- The power of the sea
Bakers Oven Rock
The Grotto from below
Schomberg Rock in honour of the ship wrecked here in Crofts Bay
The Crags in the Bay of Islands
Our humble tour boat… perfect!
An old stockman’s cottage on Hindmarsh Island.
3000 year old Midden, evidence of abundant aboriginal shellfish feasts.
A constant battle to keep the only opening to the ocean open. This machine fell in the sea last night and efforts are made to salvage it.
The water is released through valves at the other end to lower the water level inside the lock to be equivalent to the river downstream.
A beautiful feat of engineering, this bridge near our Currency Creek camp.
Fresh water soaks in the sand dunes.
Huge concrete barrages or weirs control the coming and going of salt and fresh water in and out of the Coorong.
A Barrage seal’s perfect spot for a lazy afternoon snooze.
SLR- Scary Long Reptile
Little Ruby exits to continue down the Murray River.
Magnificent old River Red Gum.
At Wentworth the two major Australian rivers meet: The Darling and the Murray.
Beach campfire
“I think I could walk across this part of the Murray River”
3 to 7 night cruises on the Murray Princess are available
Some teenage lads building a swing into the river.
Sunset
A bit muddy
Little Ruby enters the boat lock gates.
A view across the River from high sandstone cliffs
The lock gates close with little Ruby secured inside.
“ahh, maybe it’s deeper than I think!”
Attempts to keep his shirt dry are abandoned
Even the big cats have amazing jumping and climbing ability
There’s a Rhino mowing the lawn
These cheeky otters, delight in chomping on live yabbies for morning tea
Ozzie Ostrich, the emu’s big cousin
85yo Galapagos Tortoises really can win a running race.
The Gulgong images used to on the $10 collage
High Tea for the Hippo
Cuddle time with my mum
Without the need to hunt, life is pretty dull around here
The $10 Bill that put this town on the map
Julie’s fancy damper
The view over the lake
The brillient Sturt Desert Pea
The Silverton church
My grandmother never got to use one of these
The prison loos in the women’s excercise yard
A sunbathing Frill Neck Dragon
A popular game of ‘Handbag Tossing’
Julie trying to find which way is OUT!
This is what desert kids do for fun.
The Vermin have inherited the Earth… apparently!
This museum specialises in large, Mad Vehicles
Spring has sprung.. Mumma Emu and her chicks
On Special occasions you could have your hair electrically curled with one of these!
When in danger, curl up into a ball and pretend you aren’t there!
Alan has to use the welding gloves to get him out
Ed is sensing he is in danger and chooses this big black rubber tree to burrow under
What’s this red thing?
Ed’s pretty small compared to the Bushman
Goats will eat anything, including the bark from exposed tree roots
Happy Campers
Camp fire and sunset on the Darling
“Aren’t we fabulous”
Stepping out on the streets of Broken Hill
Eddie the Echidna toddles into our camp
This field has been prepped for planting cotton next month
“Keep a watch for tourists Margaret, we don’t want to miss a photo opportunity”
Alan and Brett doing a bug check
A golden field of Canola on the farm
Our bush hotel at the farm
The stunning sandstone sculptures overlooking Broken Hill
Even donkeys have to park outside the pub!
Shade is very hard to find trackside
Finalists in the classic Ladies fashions of the field
The Birdsville Cup jockies
The dust is flying at the Melbourne Cup of the Outback
The infamous Dig Tree
The carving reads “B LXV”
And the unsuccessful mens fashions of the field
My best race hat
The famous Birdsville Hotel, packed to capacity
Our first night in the Simpson
Sunrise and a full moon over the Simpson Desert
Preparing for the great ascent of Big Red
A sand blizzard at the top
A triumphant return down the dune
Soft silver grey herbage
A peaceful water hole at Serpentine Gorge
Ormiston Gorge
This gorge is part of the Macdonnell Ranges
A sandy dragon. See the ripple pattern in the surrounding rock, an old sea bed
A view up into the Kings Canyon waterfall
A giant’s foot holes
Pumped and ready to run up. Slow wives are a handy excuse!
All curves and no sharp edges
Mutitjulu Waterhole
A golden sunset across the desert
Early winter sunrise over Uluru
Windy as hell at the top. 27k per hour. The climb was closed while we stood here, due to high winds.
The descent down for me was the scariest.
Weird eroded shapes in the rock’s surface
The beautiful Olgas Collection
Huge head-shaped rocks!
There is a hidden oasis found in the centre of the Olgas, full of healthy Red River Gums, Desert Oaks and wild flowers
The conglomerate of rock in the foreground is what the entire range of mountains is made of.
A glimpse through the Walpa Gorge
Across the Central Australian Railway line
A camp fire with the setting sun
Sunsets and red wine
Our sweet Aussie Bushman home
Steak and red wine off the Finke Road
Remote bush camping
There is life here!
Lambert’s Official geographical centre of Australia
The best bath in the desert
A rescued joey who’s mother had been shot the week before. She is all kisses and legs!
If we had continued down the Hay River Track this is where we would have met the French Line.
The surveyed junction of 3 states known as Poeppel Corner
Crossing many small salt lakes
Cresting over a sand dune
There are probably 3 cars hiding in the swales of those dunes ahead
Traffic light intersection on the French Line
Preparing for the great ascent of Big Red
A sand blizzard at the top
A triumphant return down the dune
Soft silver grey herbage
A lilac setting sun
And the unsuccessful mens fashions of the field
My best race hat
The famous Birdsville Hotel, packed to capacity
Our first night in the Simpson
Sunrise and a full moon over the Simpson Desert
Some home appliances to make life comfortable at the Altunga settlement
Alan looking for garnet
Harts Range
A beautiful River Red Gum on the banks of the Plenty
The SLR Sisters
The banks of the Hale River
The largest Ghost gum in Australia at 33m and 300yrs old
Sunset on the Hale
The stunning Traphina Gorge 76k west of Alice Springs
Camp on the Hale River
Impressive Quartzite cliffs on the Traphina Gorge
That vivid ochre red
Unusual cube-like structures
Glen Helen Gorge
Wild Dingo in the bushes
They were pretty relaxed around the Bushman
A Brown Falcon coming in for the kill
A view accross the gorge to the South face
Rock teeth!
A deep crevice. Note the beehive like formations on the left
There was a guy sitting on top of that ledge, posing for a photo. Stupid boy!
The sheer cliff walls of the North face. The last slabs fell to the floor in the 1930’s
A display of desert wild flowers
Plenty of Zebra Finches and a Spinifex Pigeon
The SLR Sisters
A beautiful River Red Gum on the banks of the Plenty
Harts Range
Alan looking for garnet
Some home appliances to make life comfortable at the Altunga settlement
